~our year with apraxia~

as i look back at 2011 i am amazed at what the Lord has brought us through. i spend some time reading back at blog posts of our year! it was such a blessing to see God take care of us. each hurdle that came our way God lifted us over. there were times it was difficult but we are progressing. this year of challenge that apraxia brought to our family has indeed been a blessing. it truly has brought our family closer, it has strengthened our faith, it has drawn us closer to God, it has touch so many peoples lives....God does use all things for his good.

Kinley is talking...maybe not were a "typical" almost 4 year old should be..but she is TALKING! we were told in march that there was a possibility that would never happen! each and every day she makes steps in the right direction. little things like telling people she is thirsty, hungry, sad, scared, happy...and so many more she could not do but now she CAN :)we also are soooo thankful that we were lead to leave childrens and seek out private therapy at home. we now have an AMAZING home therapist that specializes in apraxia who comes 2 times a week. Kinley LOVES joan and gets so excited to do therapy every time! this is such a HUGE answer to prayer. kinley was having a very hard time at childrens and would cry and beg to not go. so to now have therapy that not only is helping her but also that she enjoys is wonderful.

i want to thank everyone who has supported our family this last year. we COULD NOT have made it without you! you truly touched our lives! please continue to pray for kinley. she has a LONG road ahead with i am sure many difficult times. pray that her JOYFUL spirit does not get injured though this hard journey to finding her voice!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

this year we decided to celebrate the new year with all the kids! we booked rooms at embassy suites in loveland and all headed up there! it was the perfect spot for all of us to be. happy hour. pool, breakfast, and the best part was we didn't have to clean up the mess :) the kids had a blast and we all said we can't wait to do it again next year!

the dads guarding the hallway :)

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there was a lot of dance parties!

a lot of horn blowing :)

alot of parades around the floor

a lot of treats in the hallway :)

and over all just a GREAT time!

we feel soo thankful to have such a great group of friends to celebrate with! here is to a GREAT 2012~

zoo with family

we love the zoo! one of the great things about colorado is that you get to enjoy it all year! every time we have a break from school we head there to check out all the animals. i love that they get just as excited to go each time! dylan and kendal headed to dave and busters while the rest of us headed to the zoo. after a fun day we met all the rest of the family at buffalo wild wings ...yum! such a good day with family!

christmas day #2 at gaga and papas

christmas day

christmas day!!! i think mark and i were as excited as the girls. we had a great christmas day at home. santa had some very special gifts for the girls and we all had a blast the the xbox 360 that day! my parents and auntie dana came right away in the morning to be a part of the christmas morning fun! we had so much fun i didn't even take many pictures! what a special day celebrating christs birth!

christmas eve

we had a wonderful christmas eve. we started the day heading to a breakfast and a flick with all of my family. then we headed home and spent the day baking....playing games and hanging out! it was such a great day just being with family. i was supposed to work christmas eve night, but i got overstaffed!! it was great being able to spend the night with my family. the girls could not wait to go to bed and put our the cookies for santa and spread the reindeer food! so fun!

christmas eve service

this year kinley was able to join in on the christmas eve family service. i was unsure how it would go...but it was amazing. this mama had tears of joy running down her face watching kinley sing with her friends her age. this time last year kinley could not even say daddy....and this year she was able to sing along and participate in the service. i can not tell you what a gift this is. God has been soooo faithful this year and kinley has come sooo far! we were told last year there was a possibility she would be completely non verbal and she each and every week she learns another word! kinley has a joy about her that is so obvious to everyone around her...God blessed this sweet girl with the perfect personality for her challenges...she hardly gets frustrated and is just soo joyful. as you can see in this video she had a blast as well!!

kya and her cousins did an awesome job as well singing songs. it was a GREAT family service that we all enjoyed. it was the perfect start to our wonderful christmas weekend!

georgetown santa train

we were so excited to head to the santa train again this year in georgetown. this has become one of our favorite family traditions. the girls get a new pair of matching pjs and we head up to the beautiful snow covered mountains to ride the santa train. we again had the BEST time. santa and mrs claus sat at our table for the longest time and visited with the girls. we sang christmas carols and ate cookies and sipped on hot cocoa all while taking in the beautiful views. here are some pictures of our wonderful time!